|
Post by Kainguru on Aug 25, 2016 2:48:15 GMT -8
Due to real world commitments of one of the players my Star Wars Campaign is on hiatus; because the DM of our 5e campaign hasn't any real world time for prep so too is that game on a similar hiatus. 7th Sea 2e dropped on my doorstep last month so we, the group, might give it quick once or twice around the block. Basically I'm looking to generate some quick campaign seeds and ideas from any 7th Sea aficionado's. What I know of the setting is from the new Core Book and brief glance through the 1e pdf's that came bundled with the kick starter. So far I have the following on the boil: 1) Set mainly in Avalon as that is the 7th Sea analogue of where we all live; plus our 5e DM has expressed an interest in The Glamours unique to Avalon 2) Start year will be canon 1668 but I'm trying to work in some background stuff from comic by Pat Mill's Defoe. The background to Defoe is that a Comet lands in London in 1666 causing the Great Fire of London - in the aftermath Reeks (zombies in 17th Century parlance) begin to trouble the countryside and cities, giving rise to the new occupation of Reek Catchers (bountyhunters/soldiers of fortune). As an occupation it tends to attract the able but disaffected/disgraced. One of the twists in the comic is that the behaviour of the Reeks changes as it becomes evident that they are, of late, being guided by some sort of intelligence. early on it comes to light that not all Reeks are equal - some possess sentience and memories of their previous life and others are the likes of Fire Reeks (Zombies that explode in flames when destroyed). Now one of early antagonists is the Reek of Oliver Cromwell, he is one of 'the guiding intelligence's' but not the true architect of the design (more a lieutenant of the true villain). Problem the First - from what I have read Avalon's history doesn't have a similar (or recent) Royalist vs Roundheads civil war from which to source an Oliver Cromwell analogue. Problem the Second - the Sidhe: why wouldn't/can't they interfere? NB: The nature of the Comet and the source of the Reeks is an ongoing mystery which doesn't get answered until the true villain is revealed. Aaron
|
|
fredrix
Master Douchebag
Posts: 2,142
Preferred Game Systems: Fate, L5R, Pendragon, Gumshoe, Feng Shui
Currently Playing: Pendragon, Song of Ice and Fire, L5R, Feng Shui, Traveller
Currently Running: Fate, Coriolis, Nights Black Agents
Favorite Species of Monkey: 1970's NTV, dubbed by the BBC (though The Water Margin beats it)
|
Post by fredrix on Aug 25, 2016 12:57:32 GMT -8
Well the first thing we need to do is create the Mother of All Parliaments. So your Reek Cromwell should be a good guy, building a New Model Army out of all the best bits of Reek soldiers. I've not read 2000AD for yonks (which reminds me I must rant about Dredd soon) so I don't know Defoe, but I'm thinking of Reek super soldiers made by sewing together the arms of circus strongmen, the legs of messenger runners, and the heads of academics.
As I said the Reeks should be the good guys, so why have the Faeries not interceded? Because they are the bad guys, propping up the moribund monarchy. And your players should choose sides. Protect the establishment (there can be a sympathetic young prince we might side with, or join the Reek revolution!)
John Wilmot Earl of Rochester has to be in it. Obviously, because he's cool.
Hooke and the Royal Society ought to be in it, but as the X Club, renegade scientists.
Montaigne will be sending French spies to prop up the Monachy, but also to work against the Sidhe.
|
|
fredrix
Master Douchebag
Posts: 2,142
Preferred Game Systems: Fate, L5R, Pendragon, Gumshoe, Feng Shui
Currently Playing: Pendragon, Song of Ice and Fire, L5R, Feng Shui, Traveller
Currently Running: Fate, Coriolis, Nights Black Agents
Favorite Species of Monkey: 1970's NTV, dubbed by the BBC (though The Water Margin beats it)
|
Post by fredrix on Aug 25, 2016 13:42:36 GMT -8
So... Oliver Cromwell is a Colonel in the Queens Army, hero of of May previous Wars and, now list in Reek London, after an heroic attempt to recover the Crown Jewels. The Queen wants him back, but can't afford to lose any more Heroes. So recruits your band of pirates and misfits from Death Row (or Liverpool, for some reason I'm seeing them all as Scousers) to go on a Last Ditch suicide mission sailing up the Thames to rescue Col. Cromwell.
Yes you've got it: Apocalypse Now/Heart of Darkness
Session one: rescue Col. Cromwell from Tower of London. But he's not there. Clues suggest he's been taken to Dr Dee's old gaff in Mortlake a lot further up the Thames.
Session Two: Smithfield Market, discover the thriving Reek trade in Body Parts. A clue that suggests Cromwell may have "gone native"
Session Three: A Parliment of Carrion, meet Cromwell by surprise. His Reek Parilent features thinly veiled modern politians satirised as Reeks, but their ideals are sympathetic and empowering. Players chose, do they side with Cromwell or take the mad-man down.
Session four: Chase/Follow Cromwell to the Lake of the Dead, where Hooke is dissecting and sewing together a New Model Army
|
|
|
Post by Kainguru on Aug 25, 2016 14:20:56 GMT -8
In the comic the True Ressurectionist behind the Reeks and the comet is Johann Faust: hiding in plain sight disguised as Colonel Blood. He has headquartered himself at Nonsuch House on The London Bridge because it is perfect for alchemy being suspended between all the alchemical elements - water and air (above and below the bridge), the earth of the bridge and the fires on both shores during The Great Fire of 1666. Additionally Nonsuch house contained no iron in it's construction (wooden pegs were used). I agree especially about John Wilmot - he was very cool. It's a shame 7th Sea glossed over one of the more fascinating periods of British history preferring to relegate Avalon to a slightly more serious Black Adder II with magic. Aaron
|
|
|
Post by Kainguru on Aug 25, 2016 14:33:15 GMT -8
So... Oliver Cromwell is a Colonel in the Queens Army, hero of of May previous Wars and, now list in Reek London, after an heroic attempt to recover the Crown Jewels. The Queen wants him back, but can't afford to lose any more Heroes. So recruits your band of pirates and misfits from Death Row (or Liverpool, for some reason I'm seeing them all as Scousers) to go on a Last Ditch suicide mission sailing up the Thames to rescue Col. Cromwell. Yes you've got it: Apocalypse Now/Heart of Darkness Session one: rescue Col. Cromwell from Tower of London. But he's not there. Clues suggest he's been taken to Dr Dee's old gaff in Mortlake a lot further up the Thames. Session Two: Smithfield Market, discover the thriving Reek trade in Body Parts. A clue that suggests Cromwell may have "gone native" Session Three: A Parliment of Carrion, meet Cromwell by surprise. His Reek Parilent features thinly veiled modern politians satirised as Reeks, but their ideals are sympathetic and empowering. Players chose, do they side with Cromwell or take the mad-man down. Session four: Chase/Follow Cromwell to the Lake of the Dead, where Hooke is dissecting and sewing together a New Model Army Oh I like that . . . I was going to start in 'the North because it's 'the North. Been looking at the 1e Avalon pdf and I *think* Breg is equivalent to Yorkshire and Lothlan is Lancashire or Northumberland? Aaron
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 25, 2016 21:18:21 GMT -8
If one of your players expressed an interest in the glamours, that means he is by nature tied it the Sidhe and Queen Elaine. It seems to me that you are trying to bypass the part of the setting that he wants by figuring out a way to exclude the fey and reduce the nobility. It's kinda like you are pulling a switcharoo where he is expecting an Arthurian tale and is instead going to get the 5th of November featuring zombies.
|
|
|
Post by Kainguru on Aug 25, 2016 22:49:14 GMT -8
Not Arthurian, I know the player well, as a friend. His interest in the Glamours is the 2e treatment of them as a mechanic. I'm not wishing to bypass the Queen or the Sidhe anyways . . . Reek Hunters are operatives of The Crown (similar to Privateers). The Reeks threaten England and the design of Faust is to bring about Englands economic collapse and downfall thru the depredations of his Reeks eg: in the original comic England starts to adapt to the Reeks presence and begins to use them as a source of cheap labor rather than just eliminating them (a reference to the beginnings of the industrial revolution), in response Faust alters his plan and raids the Tower of London to secure the Crown's store of gold in order to cripple it. The big problem with 7th Sea's treatment of the United Kingdom as Avalon is it neglects the UK's actual history in the 17th Century. The Restoration, and preceding Civil War, birthed the likes of the Levellers and the Diggers, The New Model Army, Roundheads, Cavaliers, etc etc. The Civil was as significant to UK as the US's own Civil War - right down annual renactments around the country of famous Royalist vs Roundhead Battles (even featuring in the nations 'favourite soap' Coronation Street). Oliver Cromell, himself, was a very complex character indicative of the times - he genuinely believed he was doing 'good', but in the process did a lot of harm. After usurping the Crown he turned on his allies, like the Levellers, and had them outlawed. The New Model Army is part of the zietgeist of the UK - many UK bands of my generation reference it, one going so far as to call itself 'The New Model Army' (hailing a from a scant 10miles from where we live). It's just the Deus Ex of the Sidhe that's problematic in the Reeks being a dramatically credible threat to the Crown Aaron
|
|
|
Post by ayslyn on Aug 25, 2016 23:04:24 GMT -8
The big problem with 7th Sea's treatment of the United Kingdom as Avalon is it neglects the UK's actual history in the 17th Century. The Restoration, and preceding Civil War, birthed the likes of the Levellers and the Diggers, The New Model Army, Roundheads, Cavaliers, etc etc. The Civil was as significant to UK as the US's own Civil War - right down annual renactments around the country of famous Royalist vs Roundhead Battles (even featuring in the nations 'favourite soap' Coronation Street). Well, I disagree that it's a problem. He didn't choose to omit those just for the hell of it, but because those events changed the UK fundamentally in a way that goes somewhat counter to the spirit of the world of 7th Sea. It's not that he's dismissing these events as unimportant, or uninteresting, just not in line with his vision of the fantasy world he's crafting. To tie this back into ep. 17-12, Stu isn't considering omitting the Suffrage movement because he doesn't think that Suffrage was unimportant, or that it contains no possibility for interesting stories, but because he doesn't want to alienate people. Not a precise parallel, but I suspect you can see my point. And by the by... I hate you right now.... ^.^
|
|
fredrix
Master Douchebag
Posts: 2,142
Preferred Game Systems: Fate, L5R, Pendragon, Gumshoe, Feng Shui
Currently Playing: Pendragon, Song of Ice and Fire, L5R, Feng Shui, Traveller
Currently Running: Fate, Coriolis, Nights Black Agents
Favorite Species of Monkey: 1970's NTV, dubbed by the BBC (though The Water Margin beats it)
|
Post by fredrix on Aug 25, 2016 23:25:45 GMT -8
The big problem with 7th Sea's treatment of the United Kingdom as Avalon is it neglects the UK's actual history in the 17th Century. The Restoration, and preceding Civil War, birthed the likes of the Levellers and the Diggers, The New Model Army, Roundheads, Cavaliers, etc etc. The Civil was as significant to UK as the US's own Civil War - right down annual renactments around the country of famous Royalist vs Roundhead Battles (even featuring in the nations 'favourite soap' Coronation Street). Well, I disagree that it's a problem. He didn't choose to omit those just for the hell of it, but because those events changed the UK fundamentally in a way that goes somewhat counter to the spirit of the world of 7th Sea. It's not that he's dismissing these events as unimportant, or uninteresting, just not in line with his vision of the fantasy world he's crafting. To tie this back into ep. 17-12, Stu isn't considering omitting the Suffrage movement because he doesn't think that Suffrage was unimportant, or that it contains no possibility for interesting stories, but because he doesn't want to alienate people. Not a precise parallel, but I suspect you can see my point. And by the by... I hate you right now.... ^.^ I don't see it as a problem either, because it hasn't happened in Thea's past, we've got all the fun of making it happen now!
|
|
|
Post by Kainguru on Aug 25, 2016 23:27:54 GMT -8
And by the by... I hate you right now.... ^.^ What I done? Aaron
|
|
fredrix
Master Douchebag
Posts: 2,142
Preferred Game Systems: Fate, L5R, Pendragon, Gumshoe, Feng Shui
Currently Playing: Pendragon, Song of Ice and Fire, L5R, Feng Shui, Traveller
Currently Running: Fate, Coriolis, Nights Black Agents
Favorite Species of Monkey: 1970's NTV, dubbed by the BBC (though The Water Margin beats it)
|
Post by fredrix on Aug 25, 2016 23:34:38 GMT -8
Oh I like that . . . I was going to start in 'the North because it's 'the North. Been looking at the 1e Avalon pdf and I *think* Breg is equivalent to Yorkshire and Lothlan is Lancashire or Northumberland? Aaron Oh yes, I was loving the idea of a "Civilised" genteel North, and London being the equivalent of the Dark Continent, the Congo of Conrad's novel. Of course that might be the answer to your Sidhe problem - somehow there is a ward or gaese over London that prevents the Fae operating there, but your player can still use the glamour as an agent of the Sidhe...
|
|
fredrix
Master Douchebag
Posts: 2,142
Preferred Game Systems: Fate, L5R, Pendragon, Gumshoe, Feng Shui
Currently Playing: Pendragon, Song of Ice and Fire, L5R, Feng Shui, Traveller
Currently Running: Fate, Coriolis, Nights Black Agents
Favorite Species of Monkey: 1970's NTV, dubbed by the BBC (though The Water Margin beats it)
|
Post by fredrix on Aug 25, 2016 23:35:17 GMT -8
What I done? Aaron You are getting to play 7th Sea
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 26, 2016 1:21:55 GMT -8
You are getting to play 7th Sea 2nd ed isn't that good. The rules are kinda muddy. The dueling rules are outright acknowledged as not working by JW.
|
|
|
Post by Kainguru on Aug 26, 2016 1:45:57 GMT -8
Oh I like that . . . I was going to start in 'the North because it's 'the North. Been looking at the 1e Avalon pdf and I *think* Breg is equivalent to Yorkshire and Lothlan is Lancashire or Northumberland? Aaron Oh yes, I was loving the idea of a "Civilised" genteel North, and London being the equivalent of the Dark Continent, the Congo of Conrad's novel. Of course that might be the answer to your Sidhe problem - somehow there is a ward or gaese over London that prevents the Fae operating there, but your player can still use the glamour as an agent of the Sidhe... Yes I like that, plus the introducing the the likes of the whole New Model Army etc as an event/movement yet to happen. Avalon is essentially Elizabethian England (Blackadder with magic*) I do notice that there is a very different understanding of the events of the Civil War when compared to living in England or outside of England: similar I imagine to our understanding of the real politics of the American Civil War (unless one consciously makes and effort to do some research: ie it was about far more than simple emancipation). Plus Avalon is really reflects the Romantic period of the U.K. (19th Century) where it began to model itself on a mythic past ie: so many 'old' buildings harkening back to the likes of Mallory's Arthur etc are really quite 'new' being only 200 odd years old . . . and I know that's old compared to Oz/USA but not here eg Rochdale Church (where I attended a friend's funeral service many years ago) is a 1000yrs old and a local hippy in Bradford I know lives in a house that survived the Civil War, it took a cannonball to one wall. Then there are all the Folly's round here that were only built in the C19th but designed to look far older, as well the real Gothic architecture that's not as old as one might think. Plus the nuance of the distinction between the North and South of England is often missed unless you've spent sometime here. To illustrate my point: most people are aware of Glastonbury, Tintagel and Stonehenge but not as many are aware of Lindisfarne Isle, Lancaster Castle, The Pendle Witches etc (down road from me is The Druids Bridge in Wycoller) across a stream that dates back to possible neoth The thing with the North as well is I have easy access to York - and much of the old town survives unchanged so ready made maps are easy. Aaron
|
|
|
Post by Kainguru on Aug 26, 2016 1:47:03 GMT -8
You are getting to play 7th Sea 2nd ed isn't that good. The rules are kinda muddy. The dueling rules are outright acknowledged as not working by JW. Has he suggested a fix? Aaron
|
|